This invention relates to an agricultural swather, and more particularly to a multi-head swather.
In order to increase the efficiency in swathing grain crops and to make it possible to optionally place the grain cut from a wider swath into a single windrow, swathers consisting of a single machine carrying more than one head have been developed. Such machines are capable of cutting a swath which is far wider than roadways and other locations which must be accessed by the machine and, accordingly, it has been neccessary to design the machines so that the heads can be adjusted from a work position to a travel position. It has also been proposed to provide a plurality of swather heads which can be mounted on a conventional farm tractor in a manner which will make it possible to readily attach the heads for the swathing season and then subsequently remove the swather from the tractor so that it can be continued to be used as a tractor when the swathing has been completed. As is shown in pending Canadian Patent Application Ser. No. 460,338, filed Aug. 3, 1984, there exist tractor mounted swathers which include a framework for attachment to the frame of a tractor, the framework carrying a front head with at least one side head being connected to one side of the framework. In such an arrangement the side head is connected to the framework in a manner to permit the head to swing from a swathing condition to a position in which it trails so as to reduce the total width of the machine and thus making it possible for the swather, while mounted on the tractor, to be driven along roadways, into farmyards, through fence openings, etc. Because the side swather head may extend outwardly from the side of the framework more than twenty feet when in an operative position, forces which developed at the connection between the side head and the framework and as a result in the frame work itself during operation can be significant. It is, nevertheless, desirable to provide a connection which will permit the movement between the operative condition and the travel position quickly and with as little work as possible by the operator. Known structures are relatively complex or have proven not to be sufficiently rugged.
It has been found that in order to enhance the maneuverability of the machine, particularly when it is in the operative mode, it is preferable for the inner end of the side head to be supported solely by the the framework which is carried by the tractor. With this type of an arrangement, the load carrying ability of the connection is again increased.